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Dutchess_III's avatar

Where do you think we'd be if the Civil War had never been fought?

Asked by Dutchess_III (47069points) January 15th, 2022

I think slavery would have ended anyway, sooner or later, but what do you think our current society would look like now? Would Obama have still been elected?

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14 Answers

kritiper's avatar

The Northern States would have been the United States of America, while the Southern states would have been independent states, like individual countries.
Slavery would have ended by about 1900 (1920, at the latest,) and people would have still been needed to pick cotton up into the 1950’s, when the first successful mechanical cotton picker was invented.
Obama might have been elected, had his birth come about, but there is no way to say for sure. At some point a Black man/woman would have been elected in the north, that much can be said.

ragingloli's avatar

Depends on whether the south had seceded over slavery, or if the north would have relented on their abolition of slavery.
If secession had occurred, then the north might have developed on the same timeframes as the prime timeline.
If not, slavery would have persisted for a long time, if not until today, and considering how long it took for black people to attain official (not practical) equality after the fall of slavery, if the south never seceded, you would likely still be deep in the era of segragation today, and Obama definitely would not have become president.
Furthermore, the fight for equal rights only took on any velocity, because black people deployed to Britain during WW2, experienced a more equal treatment from their British hosts, as compared to their fellow white countrymen. The question then is, would black slaves even have been deployed as soldiers during the war? Questionable at best.

Zaku's avatar

As others just said, it would depend on what happened instead.

JLoon's avatar

Even without open warfare, secession of southern states was certain as soon as Lincoln was elected.

With no armed struggle to restore the union the outcome would have been two different, and much weaker nations. And the contrast in social, economic, and political systems would have been stark.

filmfann's avatar

We’d all be speaking German.

Dutchess_III's avatar

^^^^ German???

Dutchess_III's avatar

What do Germans or Russians have to do with our Civil War?

filmfann's avatar

Nope, I mean German.
With no Civil War, the Nation would be split in two. The South would have supported both the Kaiser and Hitler. Even if the North supported the British, it would have been a wash, leaving Germany to run the table, including overtaking the American nations.

ragingloli's avatar

The colonies were isolationist, and unwilling to join the war until the Pearl Harbour attack.
Whith a divided colonies, they either would have had no Pearl Harbour base, or would have no power to enact sanctions and blockades against Japan, which were the reason that Japan attacked in the first place.
They would not have entered the war.
And even if they did, just like it happened in the prime timeline, it was the Soviet Union that defeated Nazi Germany. The vast majority of German forces were lost on the Eastern Front.
The colonies only played a lesser role, and at best, they can be credited with preventing the Red Army from steamrolling all over Europe after the Fall of Berlin.
Pah. Colonials and their stolen valour.

kritiper's avatar

I must agree with @filmfann .

filmfann's avatar

The US had isolationist elements, sure. They also had large groups that wanted us the back the Germans (probably due to heritage). We stayed out for a long time, but we did enter, and made a significant difference. The Russians dumped a lot of bodies at Germany. The US poured equipment, manpower and strategy.

Dutchess_III's avatar

You guys are conflating the Civil War with WWII.

filmfann's avatar

@Dutchess_III The OP asked where would we be if there was no Civil War. That asks how that would have changed everything since.

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